It’s all about relationships, says Michelle Shain, who has forged many partnerships as a Greenville City Council member and in her work with organizations such as the Greenville Community Foundation and Greenville County First Steps.

But Shain, who has been named interim president and CEO of the Children’s Museum of the Upstate, isn’t speaking solely about building on her connections with governmental entities and corporate partnerships.

She has a more grass-roots vision to shepherd the museum through its transition.

“I need a grandmother brigade over here,” Shain said. “I want a circle of people who bring their children here, their grandchildren, and help us make it better.”

Shain is stepping into the role vacated last month by Nancy Halverson, who spent six years as TCMU’s president and CEO. She expects the role won’t be a long-lasting one, as museum officials are looking to have a permanent CEO in place within the next several months.

“My role will be just to hold the fort and help reconnect with people who saw this as a really wonderful thing for us to have,” Shain said.

Next July will mark the museum’s 10th anniversary, and TCMU is in a good financial position going into that milestone, Shain said.

The building’s debt has been reduced, and a TCMU branch was opened debt-free earlier this year.

That addition made Children’s Museum of the Upstate the seventh-largest children’s museum in the country, Shain said. The main Greenville facility has about 80,000 square feet, while the Spartanburg branch has about 6,000

In 2014, the museum became a Smithsonian affiliate, which allows it to receive special programming and exhibits, and the Michelin-sponsored Bib’s World, a two-story outdoor play structure, opened in 2016.

“We go into that second decade with a lot of promise,” she said.

There’s ongoing work with designers to look at concepts for new exhibits and to upgrade existing ones, including Grandma Betty’s Farm and Start Your Engines.

While it’s important to have those informal connections with ordinary citizens who love the museum, Shain said that her experience and connections from previous roles add another dimension to what she can bring to the role of interim CEO.

“I’ve lived here 40 years, and I’ve gotten to work with lots of different people on community projects — on City Council, everything from baseball to Falls Park to Liberty Bridge — and we’ve always had really wonderful teams of people to kind of get behind a project,” she said. “And I’ve been fortunate to have been part of those teams, where you learn from other people’s leadership and how to raise money. It’s not just that you go ask for a check, it’s that you go ask for help, and people seem to be willing to say, ‘Yes, I really want to see that here.’ And that’s really what I hope to bring, is to share those relationships that I have, and hopefully pull them into this project.”

It’s easy to find support from folks in the community for a project that they believe in, she said.

And part of what makes Children’s Museum appealing is its educational focus and welcoming atmosphere “for children of all ages and stages, all socio-economic levels,” Shain said.

It has also become a tourist attraction, a community asset, and an important educational entity, she said.

“It’s humming over here, and I think the future is bright, and I think the present is bright, and it’s got a really strong team. I’m thrilled to be here because I really think it’s a wonderful asset.”